Lila L. Pinord's Page

Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Lila L. Pinord

Fiction Author Lila L. Pinord is author of ‘Evil Lives In Blue Rock’, ‘In Time’, ‘Min’s Monster’, and ‘Skye Dancer’. Much of Lila’s stories are based on her upbringing on the Quinault Indian Reservation. She creatively pulls on all the legends, superstitions, and mysticism that abounded on the reservation making stories a work of fiction with a bit of the truth tossed in.

Lila was born and raised on the Quinault Indian Reservation in a small fishing village called Queets, Washington. She was so small at birth that her father held her in the palm of one hand. She finished grade school at Queets-Clearwater, then it was on to Lake Quinault High School where she earned a scholarship to Grays Harbor College, being Salutitorian of her class. She married at the age of 21 and had one daughter Kimberley. Divorced, she later married her lifelong friend and loving husband James Pinord. He passed away in November of 2003 from the dreaded killer, cancer.

Accomplishments:

At Peninsula College in Port Angeles – her home now- Lila made the President’s List by attaining straight A’s during one quarter. She majored in secretarial and office machines with bookkeeping secondary. Deciding she wouldn’t earn much as a secretary, she went on to Western Washington University and graduated with a BA in Accounting. Even then, she knew that writing would play a big part in her life.

Lila is now a contributing author to three publications out on the market: ‘Authors Guide to Promotion’, ‘200 Authors and How They Were Published’, and ‘Shameless Shorts’, an anthology written by a group of writers who met on an Amazon forum. Royalties are donated to a worthwhile cause.

Additional Information:

Lila worked at various jobs which she enjoyed very much including; The Clallam County PUD for four years, an attorney’s office for two years, and Tower Service for two more years.

Lila and her husband became vagabonds for a while and traveled the country looking for work during the Reagan Years. They ended up in Houston, Texas, working for a while before returning to Port Angeles.

After retirement, Lila went into writing full time and it certainly paid off when she published her first book ‘Skye Dancer’ in 2003. Her second book ‘Evil Lives In Blue Rock’ was published on April 30, 2005. Much of her stories are based on her upbringing on the Reservation with all the legends, superstitions and mysticism that abound there. ‘Min’s Monster’ was published in 2007 and is set in the village where she grew up, though it is fiction with a bit of the truth tossed in- as are the other books as well.

Interview:

What makes you proud to be a writer from Washington, USA? I have always wanted to see my writings in print with my name on a book cover – to me, there’s no greater thrill.

What or who inspired you to become a writer? When very young, getting my hands on every book in sight! No ONE author inspired me; they all did.

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? I wrote my firs stories when I was 25, but didn’t seriously pursue writing until much later in life after retirement.

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and why? Definitely. Growing up on a Native American reservation, I listened to dark tales told far into the night and I stored them away for future use. It seems I somehow knew that they would become the basis for future stories. Some of the stories were myths, others were legends, and many were true tales.

Do you come up with your title (s) before or after you write the manuscript (s)? The title Skye Dancer came first, then I wrote the book. Evil Lives in Blue Rock came to me halfway through the writing process. I named Min’s Monster after the book was complete.

Tell us why you write the genre (s) that you write? Thriller/suspense tales are what I enjoy reading first and foremost, so I naturally leaned in that direction. Also many of the tales I heard growing up were in that category.

Tell us your most rewarding experience while in the writing process? Feeling lost in the tale and the excitement I feel as the story progresses. After a while, the characters seem to have a life of their own and the story writes itself.

Tell us your most negative experience while in the writing process? Trying to ease gently from one scene to the next can be daunting sometimes.

Tell us your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? When I held my first published book in hand, the thrill was unimaginable. I couldn’t put it down; I simply stared at it for the rest of the evening!

Tell us your most negative experience in your publishing journey? The waiting. It truly is a waiting game in this industry. First, trying to find the right publisher, then waiting for the finished product, and of course, all the rewriting that needs to be done.

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Don’t give up. It may take what seems like forever, but it WILL happen; persistence is your best weapon.

Who is your favorite author? Dean Koontz. After that – Stephen King.

Author Lila L. Pinord’s Published Books:
Evil Lives in Blue Rock
In Time
Min’s Monster
Skye Dancer

Is there anything else that you would like to share with us? I love writing and hate the lull in between trying to get it published and starting another book. I feel I should be writing every minute of the day! If only one could.

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Min's Monster by Lila L. Pinord

Young Min passes up a chance for a pre-Thanksgiving trip to the city with her parents, never suspecting that this decision will place her in a life-or-death situation. Due to the ferocious snowstorm that catches everyone by surprise, her parents are stranded out on an impassible highway, but it provides the cover Bruno Hessle, a maniacal serial killer, needs to walk away from a minimum security prison near the Quinnu village. He holes up in the warm kitchen where Min sleeps up in the attic to keep warm; forcing her to use everything she has been taught to escape the clutches of this madman. Will she be able to outwit him before her parents arrive and he kills them as they walk through the door?

Min's Monster is currently being considered for a film.

Genre: Fiction, General

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Min's Monster by Lila L. Pinord

Lila L. Pinord writes with mastery equal to an artist with a paint brush. I encourage libraries and schools to put ‘Min’s Monster’ on their summer reading list. Here are just three of my favorite quotes from Min’s Monster.

“The city of Center was disturbingly quiet today. Sheriff Andy Mann stood at the window of his upper story office gazing at the snow-covered buildings and streets. Everything is so hushed. Like the city was lying in wait for something to happen – something that would burst this bubble of tranquility.”

“The partially frozen girl stepped put into the clearing and the wind nearly whipped her around to send her back into the tress. Swirls of snow danced around the little cabin where its door swung in and out, in tune with the music of the storm.”

“The screaming and howling went on and on. Across the clearing in front of the cabin’s door stood the small quaking child, rifle held up to her shoulder.”

Who said monsters aren’t real? There is a monster on the loose in a small fishing village in the Pacific Northwest. His next victim is an innocent 12-year-old Native American girl named Min Wills.

Lila weaves tradition, folklore, culture and mysticism into her stories from her own experiences growing up on a Quinault Indian Reservation. Her knowledge of Native American Indian culture not only brings reality to her fiction, it fascinates and educates her readers.

I encourage you to come read ‘Min’s Monster’ and find out how Min’s Tomanous (Indian animal spirit) plays a role as she struggles to stay one step ahead of her monster.

Cold Coffee Press endorses ‘Min’s Monster’ along with ‘Evil Lives In Blue Rock’, ‘Skye Dancer’, and ‘In Time’ by Lila L. Pinord. We purchased Lila’s e-book for this review and it was completed on March 12, 2015. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

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Evil Lives In Blue Rock by Lila L. Pinord

Evil Lives in Blue Rock will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they follow an evil entity that has crawled up from the sea to terrorize the people in the small community of Blue Rock and the nearby reservation. Benjamin Bluerock, grandson to one of the townfathers, and Agate Mitchell, arrive in town at the same time to attend Ben's mother's funeral. Little did they know of the evil that has penetrated every, hill, valley, and people of their hometown. The Evil Spirit soon inhabits the body of the tribal policeman, Jimmy Talltree, and the atrocities to his people are enormous. The chosen few with "the power" begin the ancient rituals passed down through the generations to force the Ancient Menace back down to the hell from whence it came. Only their gods know if they have succeeded in their endeavor to rid this earth of the anti-Christ.

Amazon Author’s Page

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Skye Dancer by Lila L. Pinord

Skye Dancer – a modern-day, Native American teenager, living in a quiet fishing village on the coast of Washington state – becomes aware of the “Prospector” when she follows him up to his lair out in the wilderness area beyond the “haunted” Lake Odawa. Suddenly beset by a ferocious storm – causing rivers and lakes to overflow their banks – Skye and her friends race for higher ground. There they discover a girl held captive by the mysterious “prospector”, Charlie Crane. Can they rescue her before the mad mountain man returns to his home in a cave up on Wolf’s Head Mountain? Who is he? How did he come to be here? What does he want? And who is the poor girl he holds captive at the bottom of a deep, dark pit? When they find the answers it will scare the wits out of the residents in the quiet wilderness town – and Skye is in for the surprise of her life!

Genre: Fiction, General

Amazon Author’s Page

Amazon Reviews

Amazon Print Purchase Link

Kindle Purchase Link

Barnes & Noble Purchase Link

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Author Lila L. Pinord’s Published Books:
Evil Lives in Blue Rock
In Time
Min’s Monster
Skye Dancer

Lila L. Pinord’s Website

Cold Coffee Press Author Lila L. Pinord

Cold Coffee Café Author Lila L. Pinord